“More than gold?” Li asked eagerly.

“Much more, Li. If you and Biff had about ten pounds of it between you, you’d have your education paid at any college you wanted to go to—M.I.T., Cal Tech—any of them.”

“Wow! Must be worth more than a thousand dollars a pound, then,” Biff said, his voice filled with amazement.

“It is, Biff. The refining process is what makes it so expensive. Scientists and explorers—like Jim Huntington—have carried on extensive searches to locate a field where the purity of the ore is high—higher than in those fields we now know about.”

“And Mr. Huntington—he thought he had made such a strike?” Biff asked.

Before answering, Tom Brewster went to the door. He opened it cautiously and looked up and down the hall.

“I don’t want any eavesdroppers or spies lurking around.” He had lowered his voice until it was little more than a whisper.

“Now I’ll fill you in so you will all know what we’re up against.” Hank Mahenili, Li, and Biff crowded close to Mr. Brewster. They didn’t want to miss a word.

“That letter you found the other night, boys, is important. Not as important as Dr. Weber’s abductors think it is, but it does tell of a cesium find Huntington made in New Zealand. He felt it to be a sensational discovery.”

“High-grade ore?” Biff asked.

“Yes. In his letter to Dr. Weber, Huntington told of the find, of his belief in its high degree of purity. He was bringing a sample, and a map of the location, to Honolulu. Dr. Weber was to assay it. Then, if it proved out as expected, Ajax Mining was to move in on the deal and exploit the field.”

“And Mr. Huntington never got here,” Biff said.

“That’s right. That call I received from Dr. Weber—you remember, Biff. The doctor had just arrived in Honolulu when word of Huntington’s loss at sea became known. There was an extensive sea and air search, but nothing was found, no sign of the sloop’s wreckage, and, even more unfortunately, no slightest sign of Huntington.”

“How could that be, Mr. Brewster?” Li wanted to know.

“It is thought that Jim Huntington’s sloop must have split its seams open in a heavy squall, Li. Huntington apparently stuck by 

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